Adult obesity rates at historic high; B.C. numbers jump: UBC study

Gotay hopes the study and obesity maps will encourage provinces and territories to look at their individual rates and come up with programs that target the factors that contribute to obesity within their own populations.

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, canada.com

More Canadians are obese than ever before, according to a new study from the University of British Columbia.

The highest rates of obesity are in the Atlantic Maritime provinces and the territories, where about one in three adults are obese. But even in slightly slimmer B.C., the number of obese people rose more than 25 per cent between 2000 and 2011, according to data collected by the Canadian Community Health Survey.

One in four British Columbians is obese.

The CCHS uses self-reported information on height and weight collected from Canadians age 18 and over to calculate Body Mass Index, a widely accepted measure for healthy weight. Obesity is defined as having a BMI greater than 30.

Women appear to be joining the ranks of the obese faster than men, particularly in Canada’s north, according to lead researcher Carolyn Gotay.

“If there is a gender difference, that could help us to understand what is driving the rise in obesity,” she said. Such understanding could help governments and educators tailor the kind of information they deliver to women.

The biggest increase in obesity came between 2000 and 2007, according to the study. Between 2008 and 2011, the number of obese Canadian grew by just over one percentage point, to 25.3 per cent.

“Obesity is still increasing, it hasn’t declined or levelled off,” said Gotay. “But maybe some of the programs that have been introduced over the past few years increasing public awareness about obesity are starting to bear fruit.”

It will take years to learn whether obesity will level off or even decline, she said. And the numbers could mask an even more concerning reality.

Studies in the United States, where the increase in the number of obese people has also slowed, show that the number of people who are “super-obese” (with a BMI score higher than 50) is increasing more rapidly than any other class of obesity, according to the U.S. Centres for Disease Control.

“I really don’t think the rise in obesity is stopping,” said Gotay.

Why British Columbians are less likely to be obese than other Canadians is not known, but theories abound.

British Columbians are more likely to engage in outdoor activities, and we tend to eat healthier than our fellow Canadians.

People in B.C., Ontario and Yukon are more likely to be physically active than people in the rest of the country regardless of age, according to Statistics Canada. People in the Atlantic provinces, Quebec, Nunavut, Manitoba and Saskatchewan were all below the national average.

“B.C has the lowest smoking rates in Canada, we have better physical activity indicators, we eat more fruit and vegetables, but that doesn’t make it optimal,” said Gotay. “Even here, between one in five and one in four would be categorized as obese.”

Our ethnic makeup might also explain why British Columbians are statistically thinner than other Canadians, according to UBC nutrition professor Judy McLean. Our large Asian community is likely helping, statistically.

Richmond has the lowest rate of obesity in Canada and has the highest Asian population, at least 50 per cent of Richmond residents identify as Chinese.

That advantage may well fade over time. While new immigrants are less likely to be obese than Canadian-born residents, that protective effect fades over time as dietary habits change, and as each successive generation adopts a more western diet, she said.

Maps that graphically illustrate the obesity epidemic and clearly show the areas where people are gaining weight the fastest are a powerful and persuasive way of communicating about the problem with both the public and with policy-makers, Gotay said.

The last pan-Canadian obesity maps were produced in 1998.

“You don’t need to speak or understand English or read numbers or tables — maps are a very dramatic way to convey the information,” she said.

The study, Updating the Canadian Obesity Maps: An Epidemic in Progress, was published Wednesday in the Canadian Journal of Public Health.

Gotay hopes the study and obesity maps will encourage provinces and territories to look at their individual rates and come up with programs that target the factors that contribute to obesity within their own populations.

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